Lexicon of Arguments

Philosophical and Scientific Issues in Dispute
 
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Millikan I 66
Rationality/Bennett/Millikan: it seems that a rational person should not take "shortcuts". I.e., he must consider not only positive evidence, but also negative evidence.
>Evidence, >Knowledge, >Meaning/intending, >Beliefs.
General/formal: Suppose John believes.

"usually: if A then B"
and furthermore:

"non-(usually: if A-and-not-C, then B)"

rational: would it then follow that John must believe
a) "usually: if A then C" and
b) if A-and-C, then B.
Then there are the following possible cases.
1. the only evidence for C comes from the fact that John knows that usually if A then C. Then he should simply move from A to B.
2. John has independent ways of believing C based on evidence. And he comes across A while he already has evidence for non-C.
I 67
Then he should rationally also believe that non-C and not infer B from A.
3. John has independent evidence according to which he could know C, but this time he does not know beforehand whether C.
Question: then, to be rational, does he have to check C beforehand?
Millikan: let us assume that he must.
Problem: if that now again depends solely on his believing:

"usually, if D, then C", etc.

Rationality/Millikan: Problem: the more knowledge one then acquires, the more he has to exert himself to be rational at all. Wouldn't it be better if he refrained from all the checking?
>Review, >Contradictions, >Consistency.

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